------------------Attributed by many sources as "Czech", this poster has a Belgian address on the left and no signs of an importer / distributor in Czechoslovak Republic. The motorcycle itself is Belgian.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

"During the six month duration of the Empire Exhibition in 1938, 13 million people were counted through the turnstiles to see a Bellahouston Park, Glasgow transformed into a city of striking modernist architecture, wide boulevards, fountains and other stunning water features."

Saturday, October 23, 2010

The LZ129 Hindenburg featured the first piano ever to be carried on a passenger aircraft.To meet the strict weight limits of a lighter-than-air dirigible, the Zeppelin company commissioned the renowned piano making firm of Julius Blüthner to create a lightweight aluminum alloy piano, and the Julius Blüthner Pianofortefabrik created a small grand piano that weighed only 162 kg (356 lbs). The frame, rim, fallboard, and top lid were made of duralumin, and the legs, back bracing, and lyre were made of hollow duralumin tubing.

Hindenburg lounge under constructionZeppelin chief designer Ludwig Dürr standing, at right of photo, Professor Franz Wagner at the piano, Captain Ernst Lehmann to Wagner's right

Friday, October 22, 2010

Crocodile electric locomotives are so called because they have long "noses" at each end, reminiscent of the snout of a crocodile. These contain the motors and drive axles, and are connected by an articulated center section. The center section usually contains the crew compartments, pantographs and transformer.The original "Crocodiles" were the series SBB Ce 6/8 II and SBB Ce 6/8 III locomotives of the SBB, Swiss Federal Railways, built between 1919 and 1927 (above). These locomotives were developed for pulling heavy goods trains on the steep tracks of the Gotthardbahn from Lucerne to Chiasso, including the Gotthard Tunnel.Very similar locomotives were used in Austria as Austrian Federal Railways (Österreichische Bundesbahn) classes ÖBB 1089 and ÖBB 1189 (below), and are often known as 'Austrian Crocodiles'.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Commissioned in 1933, "Balloon" tramway cars were built by English Electric during 1934 and 1935, the first being presented to Blackpool on 10 December 1934. 27 were delivered, of which thirteen were open-topped.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The car originally built for the Topper movie was a 1936 Buick Roadmaster chassis with a custom body by the coachbuilding firm of Bohman & Schwartz of Los Angeles, CA.The car still exists today in slightly modified form on a Chrysler chassis from the '50s.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

De Dageraad Gebouw, designed by Michel de Klerk & Piet Kramer, is a striking example of the Dutch expressionism. A housing project, ordered by a Socialist co-operative society De Dageraad (The Dawn), included vast public spaces for the dwellers of 294 apartments.

Friday, October 1, 2010

The G-5 was a single-step, hydroplaning design with a whaleback upper hull. It was mainly built from duralumin which saved a significant amount of weight, but greatly complicated its use in service because of duralumin's susceptibility to galvanic corrosion in salt water. One captured Soviet torpedo boat commander said that G-5s could only be kept in the water for 5–7 days during the summer and 10–15 days during the winter before it had to be removed from the water and treated with anti-corrosion measures.The hull was divided into three compartments by two transverse bulkheads. The superstructure was very small to reduce top-heaviness, and crewmen could not stand up inside it.The G-5 was designed to use a version of the Mikulin AM-34 aircraft engine adapted for naval use as the GAM-34. The two engines were fitted in the forward compartment of the hull. Each engine had its own transmission and drove a bronze propeller .67 m (2 ft 2 in) in diameter. The initial version of the GAM-34 was less powerful than planned at only 675 bhp (503 kW) and the initial Series 7 boats could only reach 45 knots (52 mph; 83 km/h). However the minimum speed was 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h) which caused a great deal of trouble when trying to moor and when maneuvering in close proximity.The gun armament initially consisted of a single 7.62 mm (0.300 in) machine gun, but this was upgraded to a 12.7 mm (0.50 in) DShK machine gun in later models. Some later boats carried two DShKs although the mounts varied; some were placed in a tub in the forecastle, but others carried theirs in a rotating turret behind the superstructure, above the torpedoes. Some boats carried 82 mm (3.2 in) ROFS-82 or 132 mm (5.2 in) ROFS-132 rocket launchers in fixed mounts above and behind the wheelhouse.Approximately 300 G-5s were built. 152 of the Series 7, 8 and 9 boats were built between 1934 and 1936. 20 Series 10 boats were built in 1937, another 76 in 1938–39 and five in 1939–40. 39 Series 11 boats were built beginning in 1941 and production may have continued during the war. Of all G-5s 73 were lost in the action. Four were exported to the Spanish Republican Navy during the Spanish Civil War and others were transferred to North Korea after the war. Three were captured by the Finns, but only two were used before all three had to be returned to the Soviets after the Moscow Armistice in 1944.